Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - Printable Version
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Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - Cpt. Trips - 06-07-2016
Watching Much Music when the video for Poets came on, 17 year old me thought this was a 'new' band (Who are the Rodents?), I had never heard of the hip before.
Still my favorite song to this day.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - hurls15 - 06-07-2016
My first listen/remembrance of them was as a 14 year old back in 1990. For those of us around that age at that time, one of the things to do was to tune into your favourite FM radio stations and record songs onto a blank cassette tape in order to make a mix of good music. I can remember hearing and recording Blow at High Dough from Q107 and thinking wow, what is this?! That tape got a lot of play until I was able to buy the Up to Here, and then Road Apples cassettes. The band quickly became my favourite and their music has been the most significant contribution (both in terms of volume and significance) to the soundtrack of my life (pardon the cliche). It truly is incredible to think about all of the growing, maturing, experiencing of significant life events that one goes through from age 14 to age 40. With so much change that happens during that time period, it was fantastic to have a band and its music that was growing and changing along with you, while at the same time able to take you back in your mind to the sights, sounds, smells and general feeling of being 17 years old and 19 years old at the Markham Fairgrounds in 1993 and 1995 and seeing the band at the peak of its frenzy inducing powers.
From that initial blank tape recording, to my first time seeing the band at Molson Park in 1992, to seeing them the final stop of this tour in Kingston, it has been a wonderful ride that I don't want to end. But I know that it won't, because when the touring and new releases do come to an end, the music and memories will live on in me and I am sure everyone else here. This music spoke to us. And it always will.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - Chris Tanz - 06-17-2016
This post just made me cry so damn much:
ceebuler Wrote:"If there's a glory in miracles
it's that they're reversible"
-Titanic Terrarium, Day For Night (1994)
I was thirteen when the Tragically Hip played Saturday Night Live. How ironic to have discovered a band already so beloved in Canada by their only U.S. television performance.
But it wasn't just the band that I discovered; it was music itself.
I was barely able to process the performance, but I was mesmerized by the singer. I recalled the intensity of his delivery - and in particular, of the lyrics "I come from DOWNTOWN" - the way he seemed to spontaneously, and in an instant, compute the coordinates of downtown and gesticulate the direction from which he came. At times he seemed surprised by his own words and movements. He sang as if possessed - more conduit than creator.
"Then I think I smiled.
Then I'm sure you said 'it's fine'.
They've got no interest in a world possessed by the human mind."
-In a World Possessed by the Human Mind, Man Machine Poem (2016)
I had no video of the performance, but I did discover a telephone number which provided short snippets of 3 songs from the latest album, Day For Night. Over and over again I dialled 1-800-ATLANTIC (the C was unnecessary, but 1-800-ATLANTI is less memorable). Over and over again I heard bits of 'Grace, Too', 'Nautical Disaster', and 'Fire in the Hole'. If I saw a payphone at school, or at the mall, I'd call the Hip.
I didn't know what I loved about it, and maybe I still don't. But I sure did, and for twenty years since, I have.
I got a paper route so I could buy CDs. Money was measured in CD units. To spend $20 was to waste money that could have purchased a CD, and I realized immediately that music was to be enjoyed for eternity. Not just enjoyed, but immersed in. Dissected. I studied the liner notes of Day for Night. I looked for meaning and then looked for hidden meaning. I rearranged the bolded words which appeared in various songs and looked for still deeper meaning. Some songs told stories, but others were elusive, with meanings hinted at but just out of reach.
I bought the Hip's back catalogue, but it wasn't enough. I heard about a store on Kerr street in Hamilton called "Records on Wheels" which apparently sold Hip bootlegs. I remember the location of a store I visited once twenty years ago the way one remembers the location of the North Pole from that time they visited Santa Claus. I bought every Hip cassette they had - twenty or so. I found another bootleg dealer in Burlington who chastised me for using the word "bootleg" - almost banned me forever.
I discovered the internet and simultaneously discovered the online Hip trading community. I made my own website - something I wouldn't know how to do today - in order to trade Hip tapes. I looked forward to my paper route as a means of listening to the latest live Hip tape that had come in the mail that week. I weep for the generation that will never know the excitement of checking the mailbox after school, finding large envelopes and peeling them open to discover the treasures within.
Manila envelopes smell like live Hip.
When Trouble at the Henhouse was released, the Hip were at the height of their popularity. My Dad drove me to Sunrise records so I could buy the album at midnight the instant it was released. The instant it was released. The album was playing overhead while the other completists and I waited for midnight. I read all the lyrics on the way home. I'd line up at that same store all night long soon thereafter in the hopes of scoring concert tickets, but would be foiled by Ticketmaster's wristband policy which demosntrated a complete lack of appreciation for the dedication of us die-hards.
"And the river don't sleep
When the water runs cold
And the calendar burns
As the story unfolds
And the valley spans miles
When the mountain stands high
Can't they let us run wild
For another midnight?"
- Another Midnight, Up To Here (1989)
But there would be many shows to come. I lost count a long time ago, but it must be around 50. My girlfriend, now wife, Joanne, got into the Hip. We'd see them as often as possible - every time they played in Ontario, and elsewhere whenever possible. We'd ring in the New Year at their shows. We planned our Europe trip around the time they'd be in London.
"We hung out together every single moment
'cause that's what we thought married people do
Complete with the grip of artificial chaos
and believing in the country of me and you"
- Firewords, Phantom Power (1998)
Through the online community, I knew when surprise shows were going to happen. Joanne lined up with me outside Lee's Palace when I heard of a secret show. Sure enough, other people showed up - the show was really happening. We were towards the front of the line. Joanne told me we were underage and wouldn't get in. She knew we wouldn't get in. She still waited with me for 6 hours in the cold Toronto rain.
We didnt get in.
"Roses are worth more dried than alive -
such a you thing to say
Oh how I adore you when you reinvent
a rosy cliche"
- Impossibilium, Day For Night (1994)
I've been listening to the Hip alot lately. I've been listening because I was thoroughly enjoying their new single and looking forward to the album. I've been listening because that's just what I do. Every 2 years or so we get a new Hip album followed by a tour. That's the way it has always been and that's the way it is always supposed to be.
"Those melodies come back to me
In times beyond our heartbeat"
- Escape is at Hand for the Traveling Man, Phantom Power (1998)
Gord Downie cannot possibly be dying. But he says he is and I have to believe him. I won't get to take my kids to a Hip show. But apparently Joanne and I will have a chance to go one last time. Maybe they'll play our wedding song. Maybe I'll see old friends with whom I've shared these memories over the last twenty years.
"We're forced to bed
but we're free to dream
All us human extras
All us herded beings
And after a glimpse over the top
The rest of the world becomes a gift shop"
- Gift Shop, Trouble at the Henhouse (1996)
"If there's music out there laying in wait
To pounce and drain every ounce if you wait or hesitate
And music that'll help you be tough
And come together on more than Springsteen, though most days it's been enough
There's music that can take you away
So use it up
Use it all up
Don't save a thing for later
If there's music out there staying awake
To cry and drain every eye until hatred's eliminated
And music that can help you feel great
And come together in the fictive dream with a kind of Randy Newman take
There's music that can take you away
Where we can jump to our feet, agape 'cause nothing is cruel
And even if it is or was indefeasibly cruel
But we don't care because you're a fool, I'm a fool
You're a fool and I'm a fool
For music that can take you away"
- Use it Up, In Violet Light (2002)
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - carebread - 06-24-2016
Hard to believe it's been a month, innit?
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - direwolf74 - 07-09-2016
Not sure if this has been posted before, but I just came across a recent interview with John K. Samson (Weakerthans) in regard to Gord's illness. I figured this was the best thread to post it in. And good news! It turns out he has a new album in the works with a planned October release. This guy is one hell of a songwriter/lyricist, and I can't wait to hear what he has in store for us.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/weakerthans-john-k-samson-gord-downie-tragically-hip-1.3607207">http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ ... -1.3607207</a><!-- m -->
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - FourPistols - 07-12-2016
I've been an avid fan since about 1998.
As many others have said, the Hip have soundtracked nearly half my life.
When I got the email from the band, I was speechless. I couldn't even tell my wife what I'd just read. I finally just handed her the phone.
Devastating to hear this news about anyone, much less this creative genius and tour de force.
It was shocking to hear. Gord feels like someone we all know. It's just brutal.
But of course this band carries on for a tragic yet storybook ending.
We are very much looking forward to the Toronto show on August 14.
Thank you, Gord, for giving me and my wife and so many of our friends so much.
It's going to be one of those poignant evenings.
But this music is permanent. This music is forever. We can never let it die.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - thebends - 07-14-2016
Chris Tanz Wrote:This post just made me cry so damn much:Great post, so genuine. My wife and I got the Toronto soak outside Lee's Palace as well.
ceebuler Wrote:Through the online community, I knew when surprise shows were going to happen. Joanne lined up with me outside Lee's Palace when I heard of a secret show. Sure enough, other people showed up - the show was really happening. We were towards the front of the line. Joanne told me we were underage and wouldn't get in. She knew we wouldn't get in. She still waited with me for 6 hours in the cold Toronto rain.
We didnt get in.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - sean.bonner - 07-15-2016
At Bluesfest yesterday my friend asked me when The Hip tour starts.
1 week.
I teared up. Again.
Fuck.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - direwolf74 - 07-20-2016
Pretty good article from Rolling Stone today. Kinda sad that it took a cancer diagnosis to get U.S. publications to finally show them some love.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/tragically-hip-canada-waves-goodbye-to-a-national-treasure-w429650">http://www.rollingstone.com/music/featu ... re-w429650</a><!-- m -->
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - Tthip - 07-21-2016
Wow.
In all honesty, in 30 days it will be over.
In one month we will have no more Hip.
F.uck
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - The Heron Outside - 07-21-2016
Tthip Wrote:Wow.
In all honesty, in 30 days it will be over.
In one month we will have no more Hip.
F.uck
Wrong attitude. I know I've been insistent on this but I refuse to believe that this will be the last Hip tour. To leave out the East Coast and the States? There will be more of this band. Perhaps not soon, but there's no way they're going to go quietly.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - redhill - 07-21-2016
The Heron Outside Wrote:Tthip Wrote:Wow.
In all honesty, in 30 days it will be over.
In one month we will have no more Hip.
F.uck
Wrong attitude. I know I've been insistent on this but I refuse to believe that this will be the last Hip tour. To leave out the East Coast and the States? There will be more of this band. Perhaps not soon, but there's no way they're going to go quietly.
Would love to beleive you are right....but my gut tells me this is it
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - Rye - 07-21-2016
The Heron Outside Wrote:Tthip Wrote:Wow.
In all honesty, in 30 days it will be over.
In one month we will have no more Hip.
F.uck
Wrong attitude. I know I've been insistent on this but I refuse to believe that this will be the last Hip tour. To leave out the East Coast and the States? There will be more of this band. Perhaps not soon, but there's no way they're going to go quietly.
I think it depends on how Gord feels. If he's feeling good and this tour goes well, more shows wouldn't surprise me at all. It may be tougher for them to justify going to the States and touring the way they did in the past being that they make way less money down there; scheduling extra days off would just make it less worthwhile for them. However one-offs in Canada, New Year's Eve, etc wouldn't surprise me if they're feeling up for it.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - edgoffin - 07-21-2016
I'm looking at this as the end of the band touring. I think if there had been the chance for more shows, management would have made some sort of announcement around the ticketing fiasco with regards to the possibility for Fall shows/a second leg. That would have put an end of the negative press and commentary at the time. Then the ridiculous politicians trying to get "final" shows in the GTA, again management could have said something to the effect of more shows planned to stop all that.
Then agreeing to the CBC broadcast -- no matter how careful the promotional wording around the broadcast, it's going to be "the final show" in the minds of the masses. I don't think it would impact ticket sales, but again you'd have a lot of people negatively saying "wait, I saw the final show on TV and now they're back?" Like it or not, music is a business and there was a flood of ticket buyers riding the nostalgia wave when this tour was announced. If there was a second leg, I suspect many of these people will be satisfied with the TV broadcast.
It is odd for no east coast, that gives me pause. It could be just the logistics of getting equipment out there and back in the short window they want to tour. With travel and scheduling requirements around days off I can't see them doing the States. The proximity of markets that usually makes US touring so appealing for Canadian bands is a negative when you need to schedule around days off -- costly to have crew and equipment not in use.
Then the really dark thought -- Gord has one of the most aggressive forms of cancer possible. The median survival is less than two years. There are great stories of people who have put up a tremendous fight and extended that significantly, so there's always hope. But if I were in that position, I'd be thinking about what do I want to do and need to do in the more immediate timeframe. Going to work would not be high on my list, and touring is a lot of work (mostly keeping yourself occupied in the downtime) with a couple of hours of onstage enjoyment.
Could there be a better scripted ending? The band puts out a great album that earns solid reviews, sell out a string of arena dates, and close off the tour with a national broadcast from a rink in their hometown where it all started.
I hope I'm entirely wrong -- there's more shows, more albums, and we get to celebrate this great band over and over. But if they decide this is how it ends, it's an amazing way to finish.
Re: Goodbye To The Hip- I Love you. You know I do - spasticreelin - 07-21-2016
This is the end of the band touring for sure
Could there be one more recording ...that is the big question...i could see Downie wanting to record if his health allows it
Theres no way they would have the CBC in and play Kingston and then announce more dates...after the entire nation throws one massive goodbye viewing party...how could you possibly top that event...and why would you even want to try
Its over and its a miracle even this is happening